Paul Hecker is one of the founding Directors of Hecker Guthrie and his enthusiasm for design and how people interact with interior spaces has only strengthened over his 20 plus years in the industry. Within the studio, Paul is a sound voice and worthy commentator on not just design, but life, fashion, politics and film.

Humour and curiosity are key ingredients in Paul’s design approach, resulting in a body of work that carefully balances considered spatial planning with a sprinkling of whimsy and craft.

Paul is an inquisitive traveller and delights in the serendipity that comes with such travels, particularly when churches and cemeteries are involved. He is an avid collector of “beautiful things” with a love not only of an object but the story it tells.

When setting out to design a space, he asks not what the client wants it to look like, but how they want to make them feel.

Generous with his time and knowledge, Paul is the first to acknowledge brilliance by others, yet this harnesses a creative challenge which drives him to continue to be an arbiter of style and taste.

After starting out in 1999 as Hecker Phelan & Guthrie, in partnership with Kerry Phelan, Paul Hecker and business partner Hamish Guthrie launched Hecker Guthrie in 2010. They are known for their meticulous attention to detail, and for injecting a pinch of eclecticism and fun into even their grandest projects. Many of the projects Hecker Guthrie take on do sit at the slightly higher end of the budget scale, yet even their most modest styling / decoration projects are completed with the greatest consideration and genuine enthusiasm. A large part of this approach comes from founding director Paul Hecker.

Paul Hecker is a well known and revered figure and spokesperson in the Australian design industry, and after 20+ years in the industry he still has the most infectious enthusiasm for his craft. He’s supremely talented, opinionated, hilariously entertaining, and seemingly full of energy at all times. As his bio accurately states – ‘humour and curiosity are key ingredients in Paul’s design approach, resulting in a body of work that carefully balances considered spatial planning with a sprinkling of whimsy and craft’.